Anon Text | Mingle

[rollstoseduce]

[On the evening of the 13th, an anon text appears on the network. And wanting to stay anon, Jaskier decides to drop the cursive font he usually uses and try to tune down the flowery language. Will he succeed, though?]

Valentine's Day is tomorrow! A day to celebrate love and romance in all their forms! A perfect opportunity to have a scrumptious evening together with your beloved, or to confess to the secret object of your heart's profound affections!

[Already trying to sound like an expert as if he hadn't learned about this only a couple of days ago, that's Jaskier for you.]

I am aware, however, that not everyone has someone in their lives, and such a holiday may make them feel a little lonely. That is why I decided to share this little game I recently learned about! Everybody deserves to be flattered every now and then, and who knows! Maybe you may end up finding a date for tomorrow~.

They call this game "Hot or Not". The rules are very simple! You post a picture (or many!) of yourself, and other participants will let you know how attractive they think you are. Some people opt for only saying yes or no, but others prefer a rating system, like a scale of one to ten, or using a certain amount of stars.

Don't be shy! Tonight the world is at your feet.

[Jaskier, you totally suck at being anonymous.]




((ooc: Yep, this is the Hot or Not meme done ICly! I pitched the idea and plurk liked it so here it's a mingle for everyone to go crazy. Characters are welcome to post pictures of themselves, or their Pokémon, or even their friends (always check with the other player first, please!). Go around and rate, threadjack, complain about the network being used for this, the sky is your limit! Staying anon is absolutely an option for those shy souls out there, but "logging in" is also welcome! Just make sure to point out what your character is chooing on your tag. It would be really appreciated if you link the images instead of embedding them so this post doesn't become too heavy to load, especially for those on mobile. Remember to warn for any nsfw pictures that you may be using! Definitely don't embed those. I'll be turning notifs off for this post for obvious reasons so any questions/issues/etc please don't hesitate to pm/pp me! Have fun~))

Comments

[vrdantwind]

Well, what can a humble man say to praise like that?

So, you foresee someone like me being a problem for you, regardless of Team Rocket? Sounds like you have some sinister plans of your own, in that case. I really don't know what those would be, and if they're off in the future, I don't see much point in worrying about them until they become relevant. But I have to say that, in a world like this, you're likely to find most people to be obstacles to you. I've mostly met good people here. So I'm flattered to have your special attention, considering how I don't know how you'll find the time with all the other problems you're setting yourself up to have.

Really, though, can I ask what your motives could be for causing trouble in this world? I know we've all got our stories and motives, but when we've been pulled from everything we know and dumped somewhere new, you'd imagine that a lot of...shall we say driving forces? Would be left behind at home. What can you be looking to do here? Especially when this place is likely to be a temporary stay, even if we can't know how temporary.

[epitaffio]

Now, why would I ever tell you that?

[vrdantwind]

Well, you say you want to keep an eye on me, but at the same time, you don't sound like a man who's overly concerned about the threat I pose, either. Your idea is to deal with me long before I get anywhere close to threat level, am I wrong? So I can't see why you'd imagine anything I know could do you any harm. Besides, we both know I'd have to second-guess anything you told me anyway. Unreliable information can be even more dangerous than not having any. I'm almost surprised you're not leaping on the chance to feed me whatever you think I'll eat up.

But, more than anything else, I'm asking about what you want, not what your plans are. I didn't imagine that'd be so terribly revealing or somehow useful to me that it needed to be a state secret. I might be able to foil plans, but what do you expect me to do with knowing why you're making them?

Really, I guess I'm just curious what it is you want that this place doesn't provide, or that could have much meaning here. You must have a good reason for it. Is it strange to want to know what that is?

[epitaffio]

Well, aren't you clever, Claude von Riegel?
What WERE you, some sort of diplomat? A leader, perhaps?
You do have the eloquence, and I imagine your pretty face helps matters.

Some people are simply meant to stand at the apex.
I see no need to tell you anything more.

[vrdantwind]

I've been both those things, yes. Don't see much reason to deny that. I still am both of those things, I suppose, even temporarily displaced.

I've stood at the apex you mention, too. And while a lot of people think they want to do the same, I wonder how many of them actually appreciate what it means to be there. It's constant work and vigilance, and even if you climb to the highest of your sphere, you still have to contend with those who've done the same in spheres of their own. So in essence there is no true apex - just a bunch of bigwigs jostling up against each other in too small of a room, constantly playing a game of who they can afford to offend and who they have to play nice with. Power, wealth, happiness, freedom - you think that if you reach the top, you're granted these things in endless measure, only to find that there's a price to pay for all of them...at least, if you want to wake up at the apex again tomorrow. When the system breaks down, it takes you with it. So you do the maintenance, and you realize sooner or later that you're chained to the machine as much as anyone else.

But I'm sure it's different for you.

[epitaffio]

Is that so?

Well, much like you, I too have only been displaced.
And what sorry "apex" is this, where you struggle to keep others in check because they happen to be on the same level as you? That is not what the word apex MEANS.

To be a king is to stay at the top, undisputed. "Spheres" cease to matter once you have accrued enough authority.
Though I suppose that may be hard to grasp for anybody who has never been there.

[vrdantwind]

No one's ever been there. It's logistically impossible for one man to rule an entire world. You'll have to delegate, at the very least, which means you'll have to trust people to do what you want, and to be empowered to act with your authority. This makes them uniquely posed to be the biggest danger to you, and the ones who can most easily step into your place in the event of your downfall, so it's in your vested interest to play nice with them...and then, oh look, you're playing the game of maintenance and compromise and determining who you can or can't step too hard on the toes of again.

Never mind that a man who controls an entire world has an entire world from which to create potential enemies, if they don't like how you're running things. Those enemies can be pretty numerous even if you're just running a country. Imagine how exponentially bigger that number gets with a whole world. It's like standing on tiptoe on the point of a dagger. It's a system that's never existed because it's so designed for collapse that it's never even gotten far enough for any mortal person to bring it as far as this theoretical idea you have. It falls apart long before it ever gets to that point.

In my world, there was - supposedly - a goddess, long ago. An actual divine being. Even she couldn't exert control over the whole world. In fact, she didn't even manage to non-contentiously rule a single continent.

I admire your ambition, but it doesn't seem to be taking actual feasibility into account at all. It's never been done, and that's because it can't be done.

[epitaffio]

Those difficulties you name, Claude von Riegan... Every single one of them?
THAT is why you don't show your face. Not online. Not to anybody. Not ever.

But I can see that we have very different philosophies. Frankly, this isn't a discussion I am interested in having.
Until next time, then.

Although, if I were you, I would hope there isn't one.
It's true that this land has certain limitations in place, but limitations are always meant to be overcome.
And when I overcome mine, you will understand how an emperor is meant to rule.

[vrdantwind]

I'm already dealing with one emperor who wants to kill me, but I'll add you to the pile.

But I will say this: someone who does show their face, no matter how many enemies they have, and still manages to remain upright and breathing? That says a lot more about their competence and skill than any amount of posturing from the shadows. You seem to rely on not being found out; I don't need to. I've never needed to. And I'm still here.

Give that some thought, whether or not I see you again. And tell your associate sorry about the eyes.

[That last one is a shot in the dark, but not as much of one as it might seem. Claude's playing with more cards in his hand than he cared to let on any sooner. Dirk he's spoken to in person; he very much doubts this man is him, or that Dirk would really threaten to kill a friend of Jane's. (Especially a friend of Jane's who knows compromising information about Dirk.) The man who'd threatened to break Claude's wrist...well, by now, Claude's received a very obvious message from the Indeedees about him, where he'd claimed to like Claude and had been entirely grandstanding in his own threats. As far as Claude can tell, the notes from the Indeedees are honest thoughts skimmed unbidden from people's minds, so there's no need to fear deception there. And the woman Claude had run into...well, Claude eliminated her from consideration by subtly threading statements about speaking to a man into his remarks to this guy, and they'd passed without any remark or mockery as to Claude's barking up the wrong tree. Claude's not sure this guy could have passed up an opportunity to gloat, if Claude had come up with an openly wrong theory. Plus, of course, 'emperor' is traditionally a masculine title, even if Edelgard personally is bucking convention in that regard.

And this man obviously doesn't sound like the pink-haired guy Claude encountered, who's the fourth and final Rocket Claude encountered during the holiday raid. But the boy had talked to someone in Claude's presence about Claude, hadn't he? It's not too wild of a guess to think that this is the mystery man Doppio had been communicating with. Doppio may even have pointed Claude's pictures out to him.

And, of course, if he happens to be wrong - and assuming the man responds - Claude can assess how he reacts. He might get something revealing out of even a mistaken guess.]

[epitaffio]

[Sorry about the eyes.

So Claude's narrowed it down that far, has he? Perhaps... he has been careless too. There aren't that many Rocket offworlders, after all, and though he considered it, he certainly didn't deny being a man.

... On one hand, he should be in the clear, still. Claude has only seen Doppio's face and only heard Doppio's voice. This conversation alone should not be enough to put him in danger.

On the other hand, it bodes poorly, regardless. This is exactly why he doesn't like to communicate directly with others, even via text. They'll always dig into the smallest details, scrounge up the finest clues and piece together far too much - and of course, anything people know about him is too much. He should have let Doppio handle this conversation, but he must have simply... faded into the backseat before Diavolo even knew it. Not a common occurrence, but perhaps Claude's boldness got on their nerves more than he realised.

He doesn't have to reply, and he thinks he won't. Still, he knows that his silence, in and of itself, is telling. He'll have to be more careful - Doppio is, among many things, a perfect disguise, but even he is not infallible.

... Although... is this not the kind of thing Strider wanted Doppio to approach him about? Hm. He'll have to give it some thought.]